69

D.—4a

RETURN 11. [Supplied by Railway Department.]

PROCEDURE FOR BUILDING ROLLING-STOCK IN GOVERNMENT RAILWAY WORKSHOPS. Upon approval being received from the General Manager to put new rolling-stock in hand the Chief Mechanical Engineer instructs the Locomotive Engineer in charge of the section to hand. Take, for example, 100 8-ton wooden high-side wagons, Class L, are approved for South Island main line, the Chief Mechanical Engineer would send a memorandum as per " Pro Forma " attached, marked No. 1. On receipt of this letter by Locomotive Engineer, Addington, he would minute it on to Workshops Manager (see No. 2), or would send him a letter with the same information. The Workshops Manager would then make out orders on Loco/43 forms and send them to the foremen concerned. The foremen, on receipt of Loco/43 order, would notify their staff, then make out jjob tickets (Loco/40) for the material they would 'require for the job. These] job tickets are then sent to the Workshops Manager's office, where checked.fand particulars entered in the Material Ledger, care being taken that nothing was omitted and no more material than required charged against the order. The Loco/40's are then sent to the Railway Storekeeper, who delivers the material ordered, and gets each job ticket initialled as supplied. At the close of week in which order is received the Workshops Manager sends a list of orders opened and completed, on Loco/44 form, to the Chief Mechanical Engineer's office. Here the order lists are checked and posted into Job Ledgers. The time of each man working on these orders for 100 wagons is entered daily by him in his Loco/2i3 time-book. The foreman checks details on each time-sheet, and initials the time each day. Each fortnight the total time shown on each Loco/2b is taken out under the various rates on Loco/2c. At the end of each four-weekly period the time shown on Loco/2b is summarised on Loco/6, and balanced with Loco/20, totalled, and an average rate per hour arrived at. The number of hours, therefore, charged against the orders for 100 wagons would be worked out and entered on Loco/6 return. This return, when balanced, is sent to the Chief Mechanical Engineer's office, and the amount of wages opposite each order is transcribed into the Job Ledger. With regard to the material, the Storekeeper enters on S/31 form the material issued as per job tickets, and at end of period he sends the S/31 forms to Workshops Manager's office to be checked and returned. They are then sent by Storekeeper to Stores Manager, who has them priced out, and, with the S/5 summary, transmits them to the Chief Mechanical Engineer's office. Here the details are taken out on Loco/42 form. On this form is also entered from Loco/39 form particulars of any castings made and used on the job, also any forgings. The charges for forgings and castings are compiled by the Workshops Manager on Loco/39 form. This form is sent to Chief Mechanical Engineer's office, and there priced out; the amounts are transcribed on to the Loco/42, opposite the order concerned. The total charges for material on Loco/42 should agree with the total of the S/5 plus the Loco/39. These items are then posted in the Job Ledger, Loco/33, under head of " Material," the wages being taken from the Loco/6. Commission is added and the items totalled, the amount being the debit for the fourweekly period against that order-number. These details—wages, material, commission, total, total to date —are then transcribed on Loco/35 form, copies of which are sent to each workshop concerned, so that it can be ascertained by Workshops Manager each period how the charges on order stand. The whole of the Loco/35 returns are summarised and balanced on the Loco/37 form, and sent to Railway Accountant. Whilst an order is in hand, a report showing position of work, on Loco/95 form, is rendered each period by Workshops Manager to the Locomotive Engineer, who, after signing them, transmits them to the Chief Mechanical Engineer's office. When an order is completed the foreman signs and forwards to Workshops Manager the triplicate part of Loco/43 ; the Workshops Manager at close of week renders to the Chief Mechanical Engineer a Loco/44 showing the order completed. The copies of Loco/35 returns sent to Workshops Manager would show him the total cost of order.